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Kankai Municipality, where I cast my vote, was on national headlines at the very start of the vote counting after the local level election concluded on May 13, Friday. The sole reason was the high vote difference between the independent mayoral candidate and others from the major political parties. Later, however, he lost to a candidate from a major. More dramatic, if not unreal, results came from Dharan, Dhangadhi and Janakpurdham.
At the time of writing this article, Balen Shah has been unofficially elected in Kathmandu.
Independent candidates Harka Sampang and Gopal Hamal won the mayor's post in Dharan and Dhangadhi, respectively. Sampang rode an auto rickshaw for his campaign, seeking votes all over Dharan alone with a hand mic and no visible audience. In his mesmerising campaign, he exposed the previous leaders and major political parties like the Congress and UML. His sole agenda is drinking water.
Similarly, Hamal is a successful businessman based in Dhangadhi. As expected, the PM and NC's president Sher Bahadur Deuba and his cadres underrated him because of Deuba's popular supports in the region. But, the NC's mayoral candidate fell short by a huge margin of 12,048 votes.
Of the 753 local bodies, only a few remain to be declared due to the slow counting and minor tussles between the candidates or parties. Still, majority of the mayoral seats have been won by the major political parties.
Thirteen mayors and four deputy-mayors are independents as of now. Thirteen out of 753 is only 1.59 per cent, though. Nevertheless it could be a sign of a changing mindset among the voters. In the earlier elections, including the Constituent Assembly elections, the major political parties had largely prevailed.
Only a few independent candidates succeeded in winning those elections. But tested candidates have been defeated in this election.
Nepal's multi-party system has had much to do with party ideology and corruption at all levels. Voters – young and first-timers – are especially fed up with the incompetence of our leaders and corruption in the system. If a no-vote mechanism had been introduced, many youngsters would have voted for it due to their frustration.
Definitely, it is not going to be a cakewalk for the newly-elected independent candidates to work. All other city council members are from the major political parties. Still, they can perform well during their fiveyear tenure by convincing them.
In conclusion, the choices of the typical Nepali voter have seemingly changed. A "prosperous Nepal" cannot be achieved from our failed leaders. Independent leaders should be promoted based on their merit and also supported in further elections.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 27, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.